Web Star's Dream Comes To An End

May 31, 2009|The New York Times

She is an internationally acclaimed Internet phenomenon and a symbol of the folly of underestimating people because of the way they look.

But in a shocking upset, Susan Boyle, the 47-year-old Scottish church volunteer whose stunning audition for the Britain's Got Talent TV show last month has been viewed something like 90 million times on YouTube, lost in the final round of the program on Saturday night.

After the audience votes had been tallied, Boyle placed second, beaten by a dance troupe named Diversity.

Winners of Britain's Got Talent, one of a number of talent shows that are among the most-watched programs in Britain, receive about $160,000 and a spot on the roster of the Royal Variety Performance, presented in front of the Queen. Their high profiles also virtually assure that they will have lucrative careers in show business.

But the same is often true for the runners-up, who in this case included Julian Smith, a saxophonist who was a darling of the studio audience and came in third. And the exposure Boyle has received since her original audition, culminating in an appearance on Oprah in the United States, means she is a hot property.

For weeks, she seemed to be a shoo-in for victory. To see a middle-aged woman from a small town - who lives alone with her cat, Pebbles, and seemed at first to be almost comically awkward - open her mouth to reveal such a beautiful voice was revelatory and inspiring. In recent days, there were worries that Boyle was cracking under all the pressure. She was said to be a packed suitcase away from quitting the competition and going back home to Scotland. In the end she was stoic, graciously congratulating her opponents.